Box-spring support bracket



Feb- 11, 1969 P. c, UNDERDOWN, SR 3,426,370

BOX-SPRING SUPPORT BRACKET Filed Oct. 31, 1966 lNvENTcR A TI'O N EYS A ,llllIlI/II/ rlll/LVII United States Patent O 3,426,370 BOX-SPRIN G SUPPORT BRACKET Parks C. Underdown, Sr., Lenoir, N.C., assignor to Hickory Springs Manufacturing Co., Inc., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Get. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 590,718 U.S. Cl. -238 Int. Cl. A47c 21/00, 31/00, 23/00 7 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE Box-spring units are generally supported at the horizontal flanges of side rails fixed at their respective ends to a headboard and footboard, and bedsteads which do not provide for lateral adjustment of these side rails pose a problem in their inability to accommodate box-spring units having different widths. A familiar method of correcting this problem is to provide a number of cross-slats which rest endwise on the horizontal bed rail flanges to form a support surface across the entire width of the bedstead. However, these cross-slats are unhandy -to deal with and often troublesome in that they become dislodged and result in inadequate support for the box-spring unit.

To overcome the difliculties encountered in the use of cross-slats the present invention provides a bracket structure which can be readily attached to a side rail and its position thereon may be adjusted easily without detachment when the bracket structure is not under load, and which is capable of supporting large loads, even when the box-spring unit becomes shifted off-center of the bedstead so that one of its sides lies inwardly of the reach of the horizontal bed rail flange whereby the bracket structure must carry the entire box-spring load at that side. In addition, the present invention uniquely provides cushioning for the box-spring unit and prevents relative sliding between the box-spring unit and bracket structure thereby lessening substantially the -wear and tear of the material encasing the box-spring unit at its points of support while preventing undesirable movement of the bracket structure along the side rail to which it is attached when the bracket structure is loaded.

Briefly described, the present invention provides for a bracket structure having a vertical leg formed for sliding attachment at the top edge of the vertical flanges of a side rail, and a horizontal leg joined to the vertical leg so as to rest on the horizontal side rail flange and including an end portion which extends flatly therebeyond, the bracket structure being sufficiently rigid to prevent any flexing of the legs thereof whereby a substantial boxspring load may be carried at the extending end portion of the horizontal leg. The present invention also makes provision for a resilient padding secured at the faces of the horizontal and vertical legs adjacent the supported box-spring unit to provide the aforementioned cushioning effect.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the vertical leg of the bracket includes a U-shaped upper portion which provides the sole attachment between the bracket structure and the side rail whereby the bracket structure may be readily mounted on the top edge of the side rail and the location of the bracket structure may be easily adjusted when it is not under load. Also, in the pre- 3,426,379 Patented Feb. 1l, 1969 ferred embodiment, the resilient padding comprises a layer of polyurethane foam which, in addition to cushioning the box-spring load, provides a frictional grip at the box-spring unit sides and bottom to prevent relative movement between the bracket structure and box-spring unit for maintaining the bracket structure at its adjusted location when loaded; and the aforementioned rigidity of the bracket structure is increased by strengthening ribs having a first portion forming a fillet at the juncture of the horizontal and vertical legs of the bracket structure, and a second portion extending from said first portion along the horizontal leg toward the extending end portion thereof.

These and other features of the present invention are described in further detail below together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially broken away, of a conventional bedstead on which bracket structures according to the present invention have been mounted at positions to support a box-spring unit;

FIG. 2 is a perspective detail view of the bracket structure according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary end view illustrating a boxspring unit being supported by bracket structures according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a bracket structure illustrating the strengthening ribs formed therein; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the bracket structure illustrated in FIG. 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a bedstead 10 including a footboard 12, a headboard 14, and spaced side rails 16 extending therebetween and fixed endwise thereto, the side rails 16 being conventionally formed with a vertical flange 18 and an integrally connected horizontal flange 20. The aforementioned troublesome cross-slats, which would normally extend between the side rails 16 to accommodate box-spring units of varying widths, are replaced by a plurality of bracket structures, generally indicated by reference numeral 22.

Each bracket structure 22 comprises a vertical leg 24 having an upper U-shaped portion 26 arranged to be slidably disposed about the top edge of the vertical flange 18 of side rail 16 to position vetrical leg 24 inwardly along the vetrical flange 18 as best seen in FIG. 3, and having a horizontal leg 28 extending integrally from the vertical leg 24 and disposed to rest on the horizontal flange 20 for support thereby, the horizontal leg 28 including an end portion 30 that extends flatly beyond the horizontal flange 20.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the bracket structure 22 includes a layer of resilient padding 32 secured by an appropriate adhesive to the inner face 34 of the vertical leg 24 and to the upper face 36 of the horizontal leg 28. While the resilient padding 32 may be formed of various materials, a 1/z-inch layer of polyurethane foam has been found to provide excellent results in carrying out the intended function of the resilient padding 32 as will be described in more detail presently.

Looking at FIG. 3, a box-spring unit B is shown being supported by bracket structures 22 attached to the side rails 16. Because the U-shaped upper portion 26 of the vertical leg 24 is slidably disposed on the vertical flange 18 and is the s-ole attachment between the bracket structure 22 and associated side rail 16, the bracket structure 22 may be readily mounted -on the side rail 16 simply by placing it on the vertical flange 18 as illustrated, and, before the box-unit B is placed on the bracket structure 22, the latter may be easily adjusted along the lengthwise extent of side rails 16 by sliding it until it is properly located to support the box-spring unit B. After all of the bracket structures 22 have been properly located, the

box-spring unit B is placed on the horizontal legs 28 of the bracket structures 22 for support thereby.

Looking at FIG. 3, it will be noted that the bracket structures 22 will readily support a box-spring unit B having a very small Width, it being obvious that were it not for the extent of horizontal legs 28, the box-spring unit B would not have sufficient reach to be supported by the horizontal anges of side rails 16 when the boxspring unit B lies considerably off-center as is the case in FIG. 3. It is also apparent that when a box-spring unit B is supported by bracket structures 22, the extending end portions of the left-hand bracket structure 22 must carry a substantial load. The bracket structure 22 must, of course, be able to support the load at the extending end portion 30 thereof and this is readily accomplished in the present invention by making the bracket structure 22 sufficiently rigid to preclude any flexing of the vertical and horizontal legs thereof. It should be noted that because of the simple mounting arrangement of the bracket structure 22, the inability of the horizontal and vertical legs to flex does not adversely affect at all the manner in which it is mounted on the side rail 16.

If desired, lche rigidity of the bracket structure 22 may be substantially increased by providing strengthening ribs 38, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, which have a first portion forming a llet at the juncture of the vertical leg 24 and the horizontal leg 28, and a second portion 42 extending from the rst portion 40 along the horizontal leg 28 toward the extending end portion 30 thereof.

Apertures 44 may also be provided for attachment of a connecting cable (not shown) between opposite bracket structure 22 to prevent spreading of the side rails 16.

In FIG. 4 the resilient padding 32 is shown in phantom lines to indicate that the novel bracket structure 22 of the present invention can be made either with or without the resilient padding 32, the latter construction being preferred because of the advantages obtained from the resilient padding 32 as explained hereinafter below.

The resilient padding 32, as best seen in FIG. 3, provides a nice cushion on which box-spring unit B can be placed without damage thereto. In addition, this resilient padding 32 is composed of a material (i.e., polyurethane foam as mentioned above) which frictionally engages the sides and bottom of box-spring unit B so as to prevent relative movement between the bracket structure 22 and the box-spring unit B, and, by preventing such relative movement, the resilient padding substantially diminishes the wear on the cover C, usually a fabric material, encasing the box-spring unit B as a result of its sliding back and forth on the support structure during use. In addition, the bracket structures 22, which are freely positionable along the side rails 16 when not under load, are held in place by the weight of the box-spring unit B and their inability to move relative to the box-spring unit B because of the frictional grip of the resilient padding 32.

The present invention is not intended to be limited by Ithe above description or otherwise except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A box-spring supporting bracket structure for attachment to a bedstead side rail, said bracket structure comprising a vertical leg having an upper portion formed for attachment to said side rail so that said vertical leg lies inwardly of said side rail, a horizontal leg formed integrally with said vertical leg and extending inwardly therefr-om to support directly a box-spring -unit placed thereon, and a layer of resilient padding secured, respectively, to the inner face of said vertical leg and the upper face of said horizontal leg to cushion the sides and bottom of said box-spring unit supported thereat.

2. A box-spring supporting bracket structure as defined in claim 1 and further characterized in that said layer of resilient padding is composed of a material providing a frictional grip at said sides and bottom of the boxspring unit to prevent relative movement between said bracket structure and said box-spring unit.

3. A box-spring supporting bracket structure as defined in claim 2 and further characterized in that said resilient padding comprises a layer of polyurethane foam.

4. A box-spring supp-orting bracket structure as definedV in claim 1 and further characterized in that said upper portion of said vertical leg is U-shaped for sliding disposition about the top edge of said bedstead side rail, said U-shaped upper portion providing the sole attachment between said bracket structure and said side rail whereby said bracket structure may be readily mounted on said side rail and the location of said bracket structure lmay be easily adjusted when said bnacket structure is not loaded.

5. A box-spring supporting bracket structure for attachment to a bedstead side rail having integral horizontal and vertical flanges, `said bracket structure comprising a vertical leg 4having an upper U-shaped portion disposed about the top edge of said vertical side rail flange and freely slidable with respect thereto to position said vertical leg inwardly along said vertical side rail flange, said upper U-shaped portion of said vertical leg providing the sole attachment between said bracket structure and said side rail whereby the bracket structure may be readily mounted on said side rail and the location of said bracket structure may be easily adjusted when said bracket structure is not loaded, a horizontal leg extending integrally from said vertical leg and disposed on said `horizontal side rail flange for support thereby with an end portion extending atly beyond said horizontal side rail flange, said bracket structure being sufficiently rigid to preclude any flexing of said vertical and horizontal legs thereof whereby a substantial box-spring load may be carried on said extending flat end portion of said horizontal leg, and a continuous layer of resilient padding secured at the faces of said horizontal and vertical legs adjacent the supported box-spring unit to cushion the sides and bottom of said box-spring unit, said resilient padding being composed of a material providing a fricti-onal grip at said box-spring unit side and bottom to prevent relative movement between said bracket structure and said box-spring unit whereby said bracket structure is maintained at said adjusted location thereof when loaded.

6. A box-spring supporting bracket structure as dened in claim 5 and further characterized by at least one laterally extending strengthening rib formed therein to increase the rigidity of said bracket structure, said strengthening rib having a rst portion forming a fillet at the juncture of said horizontal and vertical legs and a second portion extending from said rst portion along said horizontal leg to said extending end porti-0n thereof.

7. A box-spring supporting bracket structure as defined in claim 5 and further characterized in that said resilient padding is a layer of polyurethane foam.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 474,018 5/ 1892 Laliberte 5-238 746,211 12/ 1903 Webb 5-238 1,676,987 7/1928` Line 5-238 XR 2,452,645 11/ 1948 Firsel 5-207 3,075,206 1/1963 Kendrick 5-238 XR 3,116,495 1/1964 Cross 5-238 XR BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner'.

R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

